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Walking Pilgrimages in 2023: Photos – Walsingham
by Joseph Shaw
This year’s traditional walking pilgrimages show a very marked growth compared with previous years, as other articles in this edition of Gregorius Magnus explain in more detail. This growth has been strong since COVID, and the imposition of restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Mass by Pope Francis’s Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes has done nothing to dampen it: indeed, the reverse seems to be the case. Those readers who have not experienced a walking pilgrimage should not forgo it if they are physically able. There are such pilgrimages in many countries. In addition to the Spanish Covadonga pilgrimage, the Page 14
French Chartres pilgrimage, England’s pilgrimage to Walsingham, and the small pilgrimage in Latvia that is the subject of an article in these pages, there is the long-standing Christus Rex pilgrimage in Australia, the Auriesville pilgrimage in the United States, a large pilgrimage in Poland, one in Ireland, and many others: many, no doubt, that we do not know about. It is not difficult to see why these have become so popular: while the organisation of a vast event like Chartres, or even an event like the Walsingham pilgrimage with 200 people, may seem dauntingly complex, starting such pilgrimages is relatively simple. It is essentially just a walk with
a group of friends, with a sympathetic priest on hand to celebrate Mass. Only gradually do you have to work out how to cater for larger numbers, have outdoor High Masses with deacon and subdeacon, hire a field to fit all the tents in, and find volunteers to drive fleets of vehicles to carry luggage, liturgical and catering equipment, and pilgrims crippled by blisters. When you start, with your small group of friends, you have the option of eating in a wayside cafe and, if all else fails, calling a taxi! What is so special about these events? From a subjective point of view, they share with sporting events the capacity to create a sense of achievement. Like team sports, they www.fiuv.org/
